Sheeta lay on the grass, watching two cheetahs climb up and down on Cyrus, occasionally holding Cyrus's head and tail to practice hunting movements. She looked happy and moved her ears with envy. The scent on Sheeta's body is very similar to Cyrus, which makes the cheetah not very wary of her, but it also does not actively approach her. Fortunately, Sheeta doesn't mind. She is very friendly to the two little cheetahs and occasionally takes the initiative to play with them for a while.
Under normal circumstances, cheetahs do not raise cubs that have no blood relationship with them, even if it is a mother daughter, and the relationship between mother and son is still competitive after reaching adulthood. This is also one of the reasons why Cyrus has been careful to avoid other big cats before.
But Sheeta's situation is somewhat different. After giving birth to Sheeta, Sham met three strong primitive male cheetahs and was forced to give birth to the children of these three cheetahs. At this time, Sheeta was less than ten months old. Sham cannot drive Sheeta away for the newborn cub, nor will she abandon her newborn cub, even if it would cause her a great burden. So, before Sheeta was two years old, she helped her mother take care of her siblings until she left Sham's territory and established her own territory next to it.
In single parent cheetah families, this situation is very rare, but not completely absent. Therefore, Sheeta is very tolerant towards the two cheetahs Cyrus is raising, perhaps due to her recent loss of cubs.
"Speaking of which, how did you keep them?" Sheeta flicked her tail and clawed Calvin and Charlie, rolling on the ground in a ball. "They're not your kind, are they?"
"They are my children."
"Who are you deceiving?" Sheeta looked at Cyrus and said, "You just turned three years old this year, can you have a female cheetah give birth to a baby cheetah?"
Indeed, if the Cheetahs were all like Sheeta, who could blood the nose of male Cheetahs, Cyrus's idea of finding a Cheetahs to touch his papers and lick his fur would be completely alone At least, he would have a future only when he grows to the level of Parzin and Jarrow.
"That pair of brothers are five years old this year. Compared to them, you are still young."
Sheeta mercilessly poked Cyrus's glass heart, allowing him to squat beside the termite mound in frustration without saying a word.
A week ago, the Parzin and Jarlow brothers chased Sheeta to the area where Cyrus and two cheetahs lived. Although there was not much conflict among the few cheetahs, two single male cheetahs, one female cheetah, and a male cheetah with two cubs gathered together, which looked strange.
Parzin left with Jarlow on the same day, but both Sheeta and Cyrus knew that the brothers had not gone far. Perhaps Jarlow hasn't given up yet, or there may be other reasons, but as long as he doesn't touch Cyrus's bottom line and threaten the two cubs, Cyrus doesn't intend to intervene. After all, this is also on the edge of Parzin and Jarlow's territory. If you want to make a living on their territory, you must be more discerning. Of course, if Cyrus intends to establish its own territory, then it's a different story.
Sheeta has temporarily stayed here, and the rainy season is coming to an end. It is close to the Gangsa River and is also a necessary route for the migration of wildebeests and other herbivores. When a large number of wildebeests, zebras, and antelopes cross the river, it is definitely the best time to start, but cheetahs have limited hunting options. Most of them still focus on the young wildebeests and gazelles, and even the young zebras rarely try.
Sheeta, who is eight years old, has extensive experience in teaching all of this to Cyrus, and her two little cheetahs have also benefited greatly.
"I can't live with you all the time, but I want to help you."
Sheeta's tone was somewhat melancholic, as she held the two little cheetahs in her arms, as if mourning her lost child. It's really difficult for cheetahs to raise offspring. They don't live in groups like lions, nor are they good at climbing trees and hiding like leopards. Cheetahs always live on open grasslands. When their cubs are seven or eight weeks old, they have to follow their mothers across the grasslands. Hyenas, lions, even wolves and eagles can kill their cubs. The survival of the cheetah cub is extremely difficult, but the growing cheetah can be called the king of speed on the grassland.
Cyrus lay on the side, unable to help but recall what had happened during his several months of living with the cheetah cub. He fought against lions, against hyenas, held the leopard, and whenever he encountered a baboon, he would slip away. This kind of life was unimaginable for him as a human.
"Life on the grassland is not that easy."
Thinking of the profound words of the Maasai guide when he first picked up the camera and followed the team into the vast grassland, Cyrus could only silently wipe away a bitter tear at the moment.
Indeed, life is not easy.
The consecutive days of high temperatures and drizzle indicate the end of the rainy season and the arrival of the dry season.
The water level of the Gangsa River began to decline, and a large number of wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, and other animals gathered from the grassland. If viewed from the air, a large number of animals gathered towards the river mouth, like rushing torrents. This scene is so spectacular, only nature can create such a miracle.
Sheeta and Cyrus broke up a day ago, and although they have a blood relationship, adult male and female cheetahs cannot live together for a long time. Cyrus is very grateful to Sheeta. Before Sheeta left, he specifically went to catch an adult gazelle and gave it to Sheeta as a farewell gift.
Sheeta watched as Cyrus dragged the prey in front of her, unsure of what to say for a moment. Looking at the two little cheetahs sitting obediently next to Cyrus, even drooling at the antelope meat without taking a bite, Sheeta suddenly had an impulse to cover her head with her paws. Did something happen to her mother after she left and her temperament changed greatly? Otherwise, how could such a strange cheetah be raised?
Eventually, Sheeta shared the gazelle with Cyrus and his son, and then the siblings went their separate ways
Sheeta began tracking the group of wildebeests crossing the river and planned to cross the Gangsa River as well, far away from the territory of the Parzin and Jarlow brothers. Cyrus, on the other hand, was concerned about the hooves of millions of wildebeests and only chased far behind the herd of wildebeests, planning to wait until most of them crossed the Gangsa River before taking action.
Calvin and Charlie are curious about everything now, and they have repeatedly disturbed Cyrus's hunting due to their curiosity, allowing easily accessible prey to escape. Cyrus did not blame them, but the two little cheetahs had to starve for three days. Since then, every time Cyrus hunted, they obediently followed Cyrus, imitating every move of Cyrus, and no longer making noise or playing around casually.
Cyrus sat on the termite mound, watching the scene of a large army of wildebeests crossing the river in the distance. It is estimated that there are over 100000 wildebeests crossing the river, and lions have already appeared on the riverbank. Cyrus has no intention of touching his eyebrows, his goal is a group of cornered antelopes with their cubs. This group of antelopes likes to stay in the tall grass, as long as they are careful to lurk and catch their young without any problem. As for the mother antelope, Cyrus has the confidence to avoid it.
Two little cheetahs waited obediently by the termite mound, while Cyrus slowly approached the group of antelopes. However, he didn't expect the Parzin and Jarlow brothers to also have the same idea for this group of antelopes, but they didn't want to catch the young antelopes, but the adult ones.
Cyrus lay prostrate in the grass, fortunate enough to witness the entire hunting process. While stunned, he truly experienced the unique speed and strength of the evolved male cheetah.
When Parzin and Jarlow were about a hundred meters away from the antelope, they voluntarily revealed their whereabouts. Jarlow rushed towards the group of antelopes and dispersed them, while Parzin chose the target prey. The two brothers' movements during hunting were as planned, with Jarlow closely following behind the antelope, separating her from the other antelopes. The antelope realized that it was in big trouble and no longer ran away. Relying on its sturdy physique, they lowered their heads, Threatening his cheetah brother with sharp horns, Jarlow and Parzin kept running around the antelope, attracting its attention. As the antelope rushed towards Jarlow, Parzin suddenly rushed forward at an extremely fast speed, leaped fiercely, transformed into a human form in the air, and landed on the antelope's back. With both hands firmly grasping the antelope's horns, they fiercely bit the antelope's neck, causing the antelope to raise its head in pain, Jarlow took the opportunity to jump up and bite the antelope's neck, gripping its trachea. The two brothers worked together to bring down the antelope. The antelope struggled repeatedly to stand up, but was repeatedly suppressed by the cheetah. Finally, the antelope gave up the struggle and stopped kicking its hooves. The entire process didn't last long, but Cyrus only felt that every moment was replayed in front of him like a slow motion.
Both Parzin and Jarlow were panting heavily, while Jarlow bit the neck of the antelope without letting go. Parzin fixed the antelope's head and lifted it. His beautiful face was filled with a bloodthirsty aura, and a strand of bright red blood left along the corner of his lips, but was licked by the tongue protruding from his lips.
Cyrus has never seen himself hunting. Looking at the Parzin brothers at the moment, he seems to see himself and deeply realize the fact that he has indeed become an absolute beast, just like the two evolutionary male cheetahs in front of him.
Coincidentally, the antelope captured by the Parzin and Jarlow brothers happened to be the mother of the little antelope Cyrus was interested in. For Cyrus, this could be considered an unexpected joy.